Women from Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Syria joined WILPF international staff at a workshop on 27 October on “Leveraging Women’s Action for Peace,” where we shared our visions of WILPF and had a series of conversations about how we can work together to demilitarise our world and create gender equality and peace.

“Companies are making money off of arms. Why are we the dumping ground? How do they dare? How dare we people allow this to happen?”

“The only losers in this war are the people. They will lose everything. Finally, these people who fight will sit at the table – not me, not my grandmother, not my daughter – they will sit and they will share the country, the money, the cake.”

“Stop with all of the agendas! The international community could end the war in Syria. Saudi Arabia could stop providing arms. Russia could stop supporting the regime. The international community could stop the war. But they don’t think of us, they don’t think of the millions of refugees and internally displaced people living below standards of life. No one thinks of us. They only think of what they will win.”

“When can we really have peace? What would happen if the international community really cared? What would happen?”

“I am ready to die for peace.”

“Before, knowing about other cases of war was fuzzy and vague; but now it means you: it has become more human.”